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Ramp up your fun factor

I, LIKE so many other women, find myself constantly in the centre of the whirlwind that is modern living.

My work as a fiduciary and tax adviser to high net worth individuals is exhilarating, challenging and exciting; it is also time-consuming, frenetic and extremely demanding.

At times, my life feels like an endless parade of traffic jams, red eye flights, airport lounge "breakfasts" (it is too early for anything but a cappuccino) and precious weekends spent in grocery aisles in a bid to quiet the cries of “there is nothing to eat in this house”.

Gym sessions have become a distant, fond memory. And date night with hubby is something I can only fantasise about.

I keep a pad next to my bed to add to my to-do list when I suffer from 3am worry-induced insomnia, and I am always keenly aware of the havoc not sleeping can wreak with my metabolism.

So as it is women’s month, I thought it a great time to share some of my tips for using technology to help you fit some fun into your frenetic lifestyle.

Of course I could have spent time philosophically examining why we do this to ourselves, but for the purposes of this piece of writing we’ll assume it is "a can’t live with it/can’t live without it" scenario for all of us working moms.

If these tips help even one woman save money on Botox and laser treatments for those stress-induced wrinkles, I will have done my job with this column.

So here, in no particular order, are my top tools for using technology to help manage modern life better.

  • Buy a Kindle, tablet or iPad: read books online, read the news online, make notes in meetings and email them at once, organise data so you’ll find it easily and regularly sync it with your computer;
  • Install Bluetooth in your car if it does not offer a built-in phone, enabling you to make calls when you are stuck in traffic;
  • Load programmes on your laptop in accordance with your needs and choose ones that are easy to manage and understand;
  • Invest in high speed internet – no time to wait for pages to load;
  • A time management tool on your computer’s task list can help you avoid spending too much time on one task;
  • Reduce time in airports by printing your flight boarding pass the day before you fly, or having it ready on your phone or tablet/iPad when you board;
  • Get interior design help, beauty tips or reviews of products from blogs;
  • Plan your holiday or weekend away by reviewing travel blogs;
  • Follow tweets from industry leaders in your field to keep up to date on topical trends;
  • Downloads apps to track fitness goals and for yoga and gym routines to do at home;
  • Bag bargains on online shopping sites;
  • Buy groceries online and have them delivered at home and unpacked in your pantry;
  • Use the caller ID on your cellphone to eliminate having to answer calls you do not want to take, or having to spend time on answering a cold call;
  • Scan hard copy documents into folders on your computer, and organise the folders in such a way that you will be able to retrieve documents easily;
  • A headset on your office phone makes it possible to take calls and carry on with other important tasks at the same time;
  • Use emails effectively for communication with friends and business associates, by dealing with an email at once. Either save it in a to do list that is categorised, or send it to your PA to deal with, or reply to it at once;
  • Use voicemail on your phone effectively by checking and clearing voice messages only at certain times during the day;
  • Video- or teleconferencing will reduce flight time, time spent at airports and travelling to and from airports;
  • Skype allows you to connect visually with anyone in the world and save time on travelling;
  • Webinars save you time by presenting a topic to an audience, with questions and answers possible, again saving travelling time;
  • Google applications are great. Google docs, Google calendar and Google sites (among others) can streamline projects for you from wherever you have an internet connection. Travel time to the office in peak times or foul weather conditions can be saved by connecting from home. Storage and search capabilities on Google can be used to access documents easily and quickly when you need them for the preparation of papers or for research. Instant messaging can be set up in such a way so that you are notified of blogs mentioning you or news items breaking;
  • Using Facebook and LinkedIn for networking can save the time spent on telephone calls;
  • Other networking services can keep track of all your contacts and information about them that you would like to remember: time is saved by not having to page through business card holders;
  • Order movies from your couch, instead of going out to the movie house or to a dvd shop.

Of course, there is also the risk that technology can take over your life. But don’t let it.  Just because anyone can reach you anywhere and anytime doesn’t mean they should be allowed to.

Switch off when you have downtime without feeling guilty about it. It can prove to be a new experience to have scheduled “off” time.

Do something for yourself with the time you save with technology – all work and no play just makes for a dull girl.  

 - Fin24

*Marteen Michau is the head of fiduciary and tax at Sanlam Private Investments. She is the latest guest columnist taking part in Fin24's Women's Month campaign celebrating women in business.

Fin24 welcomes your participation in the campaign. Send your views to editor@fin24.com and you could get published.

Previous women's month columns:

Map your delivery plan - Jackie Carroll, managing director for Media Works

Fine balancing act - Managing director of MUA Insurance Acceptances

Small victories are sweet
- CEO of Save the Children South Africa

Head in the clouds - Marketing manager at kulula.com

The sky's the limit - Tsidi Luse, quality control manager at Lafarge's Lichtenburg plant

In the driving seat - Dawn Nathan-Jones, CEO, Europcar

Get your hands dirty - Sandra Burmeister, CEO of the Landelahni Recruitment Group

Manage like a woman - Wahida Parker, director of Equillore

Four tips for working moms - Glynnis Jeffries, head: business development at Futuregrowth

Women a force for change - Amelia Jones, CEO of Community Chest

Don't be an ice queen - Nicole Fannin, financial consultant at deVere Group

 

* Follow Fin24 on FacebookTwitter and Google+.

   
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